The Classification of Patents Part 3

[3] By "natural law" in the useful arts is meant that uniformity of action which is manifested whenever any particular substance in any particular condition is brought into such relation with any particular manifestation of energy that the force exerted modifies or prevents modification of the form, nature, condition, or locus of the substance or modifies the manifestation of energy or both.

[4] A "property" may be described as any quality common and essential to the whole of a cla.s.s but not necessary to mark out that cla.s.s from other cla.s.ses. Thus, all wheel tires may be said to possess annularity; but washers and finger rings are also annular. A "peculiar property" is one that not only always belongs to a cla.s.s of objects but belongs to that cla.s.s alone; thus a circle has the peculiar property of containing the greatest s.p.a.ce within a line of given length, and catalytic substances have the power of setting up chemical reaction without themselves being changed.

[5] An "accident" is any quality that may indifferently belong or not belong to a cla.s.s without affecting the other qualities of the cla.s.s.

That a man's name is James is an accident telling nothing of the man's physique or character.

[6] "Effect" or "result" is the consequence of a process of the useful arts practiced with or without instruments. The effect of an instrument is the effect of its operation. Effects may be direct or indirect, proximate or remote, necessary or accidental.

"Product" is an effect consequent upon a process that changes the form, state, or ingredients of matter perceptibly and permanently, as distinguished from effects that are fleeting or involve no change in perceptible form, state, or ingredients of matter.

"Function" is the "action of means upon an object while producing the effect." (Robinson.) Functions may be direct or indirect, proximate or remote, necessary or accidental. The direct, proximate, or necessary function of the hammer in normal operation is impacting. Indirect, remote, or accidental functions of a hammer may be comminuting, forging, driving, etc.

[7] Cla.s.sification of the Sciences.

[8] Logical division is the process by which the species of which a genus is composed are distinguished and set apart. Physical division or part.i.tion is the process by which the parts of any object are distinguished and set apart. Metaphysical division is the process by which the qualities of a thing are segregated and set apart in thought.

[9] Any cla.s.s of objects may be called a "genus" if it be regarded as made up of two or more different kinds of objects or of two or more species. "Motors" is a genus when the cla.s.s "Motors" is considered as divided into electric motors and nonelectric motors, or electric motors, spring motors, weight motors, current motors fluid pressure motors, etc.

A genus is more extensive than any of its species but less intensive.

A "species" is any cla.s.s that is regarded as forming a part of the next larger cla.s.s, "electric motors" being a species of "motors" and "motors"

being a species of "energy transformers." A species is more intensive than the genus to which it belongs but less extensive.

Every species may be a genus to another species until no further subdivisions can be made. This last indivisible species is termed the _infima species_. Every genus may be a species to another genus until a point is reached where no further generalization may be made or the _summum genus_ is attained. In the Patent Office cla.s.sification of the useful arts, the _summum genus_ is useful arts. The _summum genus_ of the plastic arts would be plastics. The _infima species_ in the useful arts evidently never can be attained.

"Proximate species" and "proximate genus" indicate, respectively, those species that are divided from a genus without intermediate genera, and those genera from which the species are directly divided. Motors, and not energy transformers, is the proximate genus to the species, fluid motors, electric motors, etc., while fluid motors, electric motors, etc., and not steam engines, alternating current motors, etc., are proximate species to motors.

[10] In the Manual of Cla.s.sification of the U. S. Patent Office the arrangement of subcla.s.ses has always been alphabetical, although in the Supplement containing definitions of revised cla.s.ses the arrangement is numerical. If the latter schedule of "b.a.l.l.s" in the text had been printed in alphabetical order, it is apparent that the species "Aluminum" and "Zinc" of the genus Metal would be as widely separated as possible. In the former schedule of "b.a.l.l.s," in which the genus Metal is printed, "Aluminum" and "Zinc" come together. It is apparent that in an alphabetical arrangement allied species can not be kept together without printing every proximate genus. This fact, among others, indicates the advisability of abandoning the alphabetical arrangement in the cla.s.sification manual and adopting the idea arrangement in the schedules of revised cla.s.ses, supplemented by a consolidated alphabetical index of all subcla.s.ses.

[11] A species contains all the qualities of the genus and more. These additional qualities form the "difference." The electric motor has the qualities that are common to motors and is differentiated by reason of the fact that electric energy is thereby converted to mechanical motion.

[12] Cla.s.sification of a patent is said to be "original" in the cla.s.s and subcla.s.s which receives the most intensive claimed disclosure, and in which the patent is indexed in the official cla.s.sification indexes.

"Original cla.s.sification" is referred to as opposed to "cla.s.sification by cross-reference."

A "cross-reference" is a copy of a patent placed in a subcla.s.s other than that in which the cla.s.sification is made original, in order to make available for search inventions disclosed therein and additional to that by which the patent has been diagnosed and cla.s.sified.

A "digest cross-reference" is a cross-reference formed from abstracts or extracts from a patent consisting of ill.u.s.tration and text cut from a photolithograph of a patent and mounted.

A "search-card" is a sheet of the size of a photolithograph of a patent placed with the photolithographs of patents forming a subcla.s.s in the examining division and public search room, and containing suggestions for further search, and on the copy for the search room, a definition of the subcla.s.s.

"Search notes" are addenda to cla.s.s and subcla.s.s definitions comparing other cla.s.ses and subcla.s.ses with the one defined and giving directions for search when necessary to prosecute search beyond the defined cla.s.s or subcla.s.s.

(C) RULES OF CLa.s.sIFICATION.

BASIS OF CLa.s.sIFICATION.

(1) The basis of subdivision and a.s.semblage of the means of the "useful arts" in the Patent Office cla.s.sification is "art" within the meaning of "art" in section 4886, Revised Statutes. The direct, proximate or necessary art, operation or effect, rather than some accidental and remote use or application, should be selected. In all cases qualities or characteristics that persist through all accidental uses and that can be identified as permanent are to be preferred.

(2) The operative, instrumental, or manipulative arts, including machines, tools, and manufacturing processes, should be cla.s.sified according to whether a single operation of one kind applicable to various materials to be used for various purposes is carried out by the claimed means, or whether plural operations are performed, which, combined, produce a special effect or special product.

Example: An instrument performing a plurality of operations peculiar to shoe-manufacture would be cla.s.sified on the basis of shoemaking, because that instrument would be incapable of other use, while an instrument peculiarly adapted to drive nails would be cla.s.sified on the basis of nailing, whether for nailing shoe-heels or other objects, and a hammer would be cla.s.sified on the basis of its function as an impact tool even though described as for driving nails, and even into shoe-heels.

(3) Structures (pa.s.sive instruments) will, in general, be cla.s.sified on the basis of structure, either of special or general application, the essential functions and effects of static structures being resistive or the maintaining of forces in equilibrium.

Example: A structure recognized as peculiar to barriers of the kind known as fences would be cla.s.sified in the special cla.s.s of Fences, but posts, joints, beams, etc., recognized as having use in general building, even though described as used in fences, would be cla.s.sified in a more general building cla.s.s, such as Wooden Buildings or Metallic Building Structures.

(4) Compositions of matter and manufactured or formed stock or materials will be cla.s.sified in accordance with the inherent character of the substance or material where possible, otherwise according to special use.

Example: A pure chemical is expected to be cla.s.sified on the basis of its chemical structure and const.i.tuents, even though useful as a food, medicine, dyestuff, explosive, etc., and alloys on the basis of metallic composition, even though used for bearings, coins, tools, etc.; whereas a physical composition having no reason for existence except to function as a cleansing composition or a paint might have to be cla.s.sified on the basis of its function as a detergent or a coating composition, respectively. Also a bimetallic layered foil, plate, or wire would be expected to be cla.s.sified as metal stock even though designed for use for dental filler, plowshare, or electric conductor, and a woven textile fabric as a fabric even though described as used for a filter or ap.r.o.n for a paper-making machine.

DIVISION AND ARRANGEMENT.

(5) The divisions or subcla.s.ses of a cla.s.s should be made exhaustive, i. e., they should be susceptible of receiving any future invention that may fall within the scope of the cla.s.s. The rule as usually phrased is: "The const.i.tuent species must be equal, when added together, to the genus." Exhaustive division may be secured by maintaining always a residual or miscellaneous subcla.s.s. The miscellaneous subcla.s.s represents the remainder of the original undivided material undefined except as the cla.s.s is defined and may be accurately treated as if it had the cla.s.s t.i.tle.

(6) A second rule respecting the subdivision of a cla.s.s is: "The const.i.tuent species must exclude each other." That is, the divisions or subcla.s.ses must not overlap. (See exception in Rule 8.)

Example: If a number of b.a.l.l.s of several different materials, several different conformations, or constructions, several different colors, were to be divided into gla.s.s b.a.l.l.s, hollow b.a.l.l.s, and red b.a.l.l.s, this rule would be violated, because some b.a.l.l.s would be gla.s.s, hollow, and red.

(7) A third rule respecting subdivision is: "The divisions must be founded on one principle or basis." The application of this rule will generally form divisions that do not overlap. (See exception in Rule 8.)

Example: If a number of b.a.l.l.s of several different constructions, several different materials, and several different colors were to be cla.s.sified so as to provide a place for each kind of characteristic, they should be divided first, for example, according to construction into hollow b.a.l.l.s and solid b.a.l.l.s, each of these according to materials into gla.s.s b.a.l.l.s, rubber b.a.l.l.s, metal b.a.l.l.s, wooden b.a.l.l.s, etc., and each of the latter into red b.a.l.l.s, blue b.a.l.l.s, green b.a.l.l.s, etc.

(8) When it is found that division into overlapping subcla.s.ses and on different characteristics is a lesser evil than an unwieldy number of subcla.s.ses that would otherwise result, then those subcla.s.ses based on characteristics deemed more important for purposes of search should precede in the list of subcla.s.ses those based upon characteristics deemed less important. (See Rule 6.)

(9) In arrangement of subcla.s.ses or subdivisions the miscellaneous groups containing material not falling within any of the specifically ent.i.tled subcla.s.ses, should stand first; those subcla.s.ses defined by effect or special use should precede those defined by function or general use; those containing matter that is related to the matter of other subcla.s.ses as whole to part should precede those subcla.s.ses that contain the part; and those defined by a characteristic deemed more important or significant for search purposes should precede those defined by characteristics deemed less important.

_Whenever superior rank has been a.s.signed to any selected characteristic_ by placing divisions based upon it in advance of divisions based upon other characteristics, _this superiority should be maintained throughout_.

Example: A partial schedule of Cla.s.s 80 follows to ill.u.s.trate the arrangement of subcla.s.ses:

Cla.s.s 80.--METAL ROLLING.

1. Miscellaneous. | 24. Die rolling-- 2. Heating and rolling. | 25. Oscillating rolls.

3. Cutting and rolling. | .. ...

4. Drawing and rolling. | Mills-- 5. Annular bodies. | 32. Coiling.

6. Screw threads-- | 33. Work reversing.

7. Concave and roll. | 34. Three or more coacting rolls.

8. Platen rolling-- | 35. Continuous-- 9. Dies. | 36. Inclined trains.

10. Rods and wires. | .. ...

11. Tubes-- | 41. Roll cooling and heating.

12. Idle rolls. | 42. Cooling beds.

13. Axial rolling. | 43. Feeding-- 14. Segmental rolls. | 44. Tables.

15. Skelping. | .. ...

16. Wheels and disks. | 55. Housings.